Michael Vey 3 ~ Battle of the Ampere (28 page)

We all followed him into the house. McKenna was sobbing and Ostin was doing his awkward best to comfort her. I wasn’t doing a whole lot better than she was. I was twitching like crazy. When we were inside, Taylor turned to me. “Are you okay?”

“Just my Tourette’s,” I said.

“Tourette’s or not,” she said, “you’re wrong.”

“I’m wrong about what?”

“What you were just thinking.”

“Quit reading my mind,” I said angrily, wondering what she had
read. “It’s like reading someone’s journal without their permission.”

“I can’t always help it,” she said. “Especially when you’re thinking about me.”

“What was I thinking?” I asked.

“That you should have made me go with them.”

“So?” I said. “Is it wrong to think I don’t want your blood on my hands?”

“
My
blood on
your
hands?” she replied. “What about
your
blood on
my
hands? I’m a big girl, I can make up my own mind. This battle is as much mine as yours. Who do you think led the Electroclan when you weren’t around?”

“I’m not saying that you’re not capable,” I said. “But if something happened to you . . .”

“And what if something happens to you? Am I supposed to just deal with that? Do you think you’re the only one who’s afraid of losing someone they love?”

“I didn’t say that,” I said, then added, “or
think
that.”

“No. But you were going to.”

“Great, now you know what I’m
going
to think?”

She looked at me for a moment, then she grinned. “Sorry.” She put her arms around me. “I can’t lose you either. So we’ll just stay close. That way if something happens to one of us, it will happen to both of us.”

“That doesn’t sound hopeful,” I said.

“Nothing sounds hopeful right now,” she replied.

Ostin walked up to us. “I’m going to make some breakfast. Anyone hungry?”

“I am,” Taylor said.

“Me too,” I said. “What are you making?”

“Omelets,” Ostin said. “Tessa left all the stuff out to make them.”

“Sounds good to me,” I said.

“What about McKenna?” Taylor asked.

“She says she’s not hungry,” Ostin replied.

“You better ask Jack if he wants something,” I said.

As if on cue, Jack walked into the kitchen. He got a tall glass out
of the cupboard, then walked over to the refrigerator, broke a half dozen eggs into a glass, then swallowed them raw. He wiped his mouth with his arm, then walked back out to the garage.

“I think he just had breakfast,” Taylor said.

*

After breakfast, Ostin went to find McKenna, while Taylor and I cleaned up the kitchen. We were drying the last of the dishes when Taylor put her hand on my cheek. “You need to get some rest. You still look like you haven’t slept for days.”

“I just can’t get enough rest,” I said.

“Come here.” She took my hand and led me to one of the vacant bedrooms. “Lie on your stomach,” she said, pointing to the bed.

I stretched out over the bed and Taylor lay on her side next to me. She lifted my shirt, then ran her fingernails along my back and up my neck into my hair, just like my mother used to do when I was little. It was the best feeling in the world.

Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for me to fall asleep.

J
aime returned as the sun was setting, a huge red ball sinking slowly into the indigo-blue ocean. I was woken by the sound of his car door slamming. I sat up and looked around the dark room, then at the clock. Had I really slept more than six hours? The house was quiet, and with the exception of Taylor’s breathing, I couldn’t hear a thing.

I quietly got up and walked out to the front room. I turned the lights on in the hallway, then the front room. Jaime had opened the door and was carrying in several boxes.

“I brought some more food,” he said.

“Is there anything else in the car?”

“Sí.”

I walked out to the van and grabbed several large packages of bottled water and brought them back in while Jaime made a second trip, bringing in the rest of the food. I put the water in the
refrigerator as Jaime put away the rest of the groceries.

“Where is everyone?” he asked.

“I’m not sure,” I said. “I think they’re sleeping.”

“They went to bed early,” he said.

I didn’t tell him that we had gone to bed shortly after he’d left. “Did their flight take off okay?”

He nodded.
“Sí.”
He glanced at his wristwatch. “They should almost be to Nicaragua by now.”

As much as I hated seeing them go, I was happy to hear they were out of Peru. “At least they’re safe,” I said.

“For now,” he said gravely. “For now.” He patted me on the shoulder. “If you think your friends will wake up, I am going to make some dinner.
Seco de cordero
.”

“What’s that?”

“It is a Peruvian specialty. Lamb stew with potatoes. The lamb is cooked in beer until it is tender then seasoned with
ají
peppers and cilantro.”

“That sounds good,” I said. “Do you need any help?”

“Sí. Gracias.
You can peel the potatoes.”

While we were preparing dinner, I turned to Jaime. “I still haven’t spoken to my mother.”

“We have not had a time to arrange it. I will do my best to contact the voice tonight.”

When we were ready to eat, I went back to the room and gently woke Taylor. She was as disoriented as I had been.

“What time is it?” she asked, pulling her hair back from her face.

“It’s time for dinner,” I said.

She squinted at me. “Dinner? How long did I sleep?”

“Most of the day.”

She pushed herself up. “Where’s everyone else?”

“I’m not sure,” I said. “We need to get them.”

We searched the house. We found Jack in the garage working out. He was drenched in sweat and his muscles were pumped, his biceps bulging like grapefruits. His knuckles were red from pounding his homemade punching bag.

“Time to eat,” I said.

“I’ll be right there,” he said.

We found Ostin and McKenna in McKenna’s room. Ostin was holding McKenna while she slept and he put his finger over his lips to silence me.

“Dinnertime,” I whispered.

He just waved me off. “I’m not hungry.”

As we walked out I turned to Taylor. “Did he really just say that?”

“Wow,” she said. “That’s the power of love.”

We laughed the whole way to the kitchen.

*

The stew was delicious and easily the best meal we’d had since coming to Peru. Halfway through dinner Ostin and McKenna joined us. I’m glad they did. It had been a traumatic day, and it was good to come together.

Jack was quiet during the meal, and Taylor tried to engage him. “How long have you been working out?”

“All day,” he replied.

“Aren’t you tired?”

He looked at her as if the question hadn’t crossed his mind. Or, more likely, was irrelevant. “I’m preparing.”

“That is good,” Jaime said. “We must prepare. There is much to do before the Elgen fleet arrives. Tonight I am picking someone up from the airport. We will be here in the morning.”

“Who are you picking up?”

“Someone who can help us,” he said.

“Help us do what?” Taylor asked.

He looked at us seriously. “Sink the
Ampere
.”

I
couldn’t believe we were eating real waffles. While we were doing the dishes the day before, Taylor had discovered a waffle iron, and we were all pretty excited about making waffles for breakfast. We didn’t have any pancake syrup, but Ostin knew a trick for making it with brown sugar and vanilla and it tasted pretty much like the real thing. With fresh butter they tasted almost as good as my mother used to make. Or maybe it had just been so long since I’d eaten anything like that, it just seemed that way.

Jaime arrived as we were cleaning up. He unlocked the door and walked in. “We are here!” he shouted.

We walked out to see who Jaime had brought home. Standing next to him was a man we’d never seen before. He was tall, at least six inches taller than Jaime, though just as thin. He had messy flaxen hair, a thin face, and a long, beaklike nose, on which rested round,
wire-rimmed glasses. We all looked at him curiously.

“This is Mr. Dodds,” Jaime said. “Mr. Dodds is a naval specialist. And a member of the resistance.”

“Hello,” he said. “You may call me Bob.” He had an accent that sounded almost British but not quite. “Or Mr. Dodds.”

“Are you South African?” Ostin asked.

“You are very astute,” he replied. “You must be Ostin.”

Ostin looked impressed. “Yes, sir.”

“May I say, I have very much looked forward to meeting all of you. Like so many others, I have followed your adventures and I am most impressed with your courage and cleverness.”

“It’s just survival,” I said.

“Well, I hope to be of service to you,” he said. “And help you
survive
even longer. I’ve been asked to brief you on the Elgen fleet and help you in your task to sink the
Ampere
.”

“Let us talk in the dining room,” Jaime said.

“Have you had breakfast?” Taylor asked. “We made waffles.”

“Ah, waffles. Unfortunately we had breakfast at the hotel,” he said. “But thank you very much. May I use this table over here?” He pointed to the kitchen table.

“We need to wipe it off,” Taylor said. “It’s sticky.”

I picked up the few plates left on the table, then Taylor ran a damp cloth over it.

Dodds set his briefcase on the table, then opened it. He took out several folded blueprints and laid them out until they covered the table’s surface. We all gathered around the table.

“To understand the composition of the Elgen fleet, you must first understand why they even have one. The crimes the Elgen have committed are serious enough to land the entire board in prison for the rest of their lives. They are guilty of money laundering, conspiracy, bribery, fraud, securities fraud, tax evasion, extortion, espionage, and, though still unproven, mass murder.

“About four years ago, when the FBI began looking into the Elgen’s criminal activities, Chairman Schema purchased a sizable yacht and moved the Elgen operations to international waters.

“Their first ship was an older-model yacht they renamed the
Edison
. Now, in international waters and belonging to no nation, the Elgen have become a nation unto themselves. They manage their corporation from the ship and move their money through offshore banks in Switzerland, Bermuda, and Cyprus.

“As the Elgen grew, they sold the
Edison
and moved to a custom designed boat called the
Ampere
. The
Ampere
is a state-of-the-art luxury superyacht. Think of it as a floating Waldorf hotel with surface-to-air missiles.”

“McKenna has been on it,” Taylor said.

She nodded. “It’s pretty amazing.”

“For a half billion dollars, it should be,” Dodds said. “If you have something to add or if I say anything that you have found inaccurate, please feel free to contribute.”

McKenna nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Dodds continued. “The
Ampere
is the first of many ships the Elgen have since acquired. Today, the Elgen fleet consists of seven ships, each named after a famous scientist of electricity. If the Elgen were a country, the
Ampere
would be their capital. It is the throne from which Admiral Hatch runs his kingdom.”

“Admiral Hatch?” Ostin said.

“That is what he now calls himself,” Dodds said. “Actually, his full title is Supreme Commander General Admiral Hatch.” He shook his head. “I’m going to give you a rundown of the complete fleet.” He handed each of us a piece of paper with pictures of seven boats. “This is a list of the Elgen boats. You are to memorize it, then destroy it.”

I looked at the sheet. It had a picture of each boat accompanied with technical jargon.

“The first boat on your sheet is the
Ampere
. We’ll discuss it in greater detail a bit later. The second boat is the
Faraday
. It is a twenty-thousand-ton refurbished World War Two troopship and, accordingly, is used to transport Elgen guards. It can carry in excess of thirty-five-hundred passengers.